| Comment Number: | 522418-04707 |
| Received: | 6/28/2006 12:53:07 AM |
| Organization: | Merris International - part of Britt Worldwide Organization |
| Commenter: | Mary Beth Harris |
| State: | TX |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
I wanted to let you know how valuable the Quixtar business opportunity has been for me and many people that I know. It has only been a positive experience for me. Everything has a money back guarantee, even the registration which is only approximately $200. I support the FTC proposal that people should only be honest and use integrity when sharing their business opportunities with people and not to lead them to believe anything is a "get rich quick" scheme. Everything that is going to produce large amounts of income is obviously going to take some work and people should not be led to believe otherwise. I have never known anyone from our local team to lead anyone to believe that it's going to be "getting something for nothing" . We are actually taught the opposite and we present that in our seminars that we do for the public. Our business does require work, but it's not difficult work. What we help people see is that they do have options for creating additional income and as a team we are there to help them. I strongly believe that the addition of having business owners provide a list of "references" could potentially be detrimental to each of our businesses. First, if we had to give a list of 10 references, that means we would be referring our potential prospect to crossline business owners. Most of us don't have 10 people in our upline that we could refer. At most, there are 2-3 couples that might live locally. Secondly, it would infringe upon people's time and privacy to answer "referal calls" for people that are not going to be in their business. Third, it provides the opportunity for another person on the business team that may not be acting with integrity to sponsor that person. Another concern I have is the 7 day waiting period. Many times a business owner that is excited about what he/she has seen wants to get started immediately. Since this business largely depends on having excitement for what we are doing, helping a new person get started quickly is imperitive to their growth. Also, a new person doesn't know how to handle "negative" people that they inevitably will encounter over the first few days. They will have the risk of being talked out of something by people that have never seen the opportunity before they ever get started and have a chance to show them properly. This could seriously impact the fast growth of our teams. Many times several layers deep in a team are built in just a week. This would severely slow down the team building process and therefore curtail the excitement that comes from seeing success with a business. Our business opportunity doesn't really carry a risk when getting involved, due to the low $200 start up fee and the money back guarantee for up to 6 months. Last, I do not think it is appropriate to have to show financial proof of checks that have been given to me personally. How much I am making with my business is not a reflection of how much that new person will make. I don't show a person at my job one of my pay stubs to prove that there is income. Actually, on our business team, we do have copies of some of our upline's and crossline's checks to show a prospect if they are curious. Showing them my checks as proof won't really prove anything. Their work habits might not be as good as mine, or their work habits might greatly exceed mine and they could in turn surpass my income. So showing them my income statements does not give them a clear picture of what is in store for them financiallly. Showing them what's possible through the business plan is the most important part. How they decide to grab onto the opportunity is their decision. I hope that you seriously consider this feedback when discussing the new FTC proposal and come to a fair conclusion that will not only promote the continued success of direct selling organizations, but will require that people act with integrity and honesty when sharing their business opportunities. Sincerely, Mary Beth Harris